FDA: No cancer risk from artificial sweeteners

[njdemocrat106]

http://www.wkrc.com/guides/health/headlines/story.aspx?content_id=B1F07489-9B43-4116-B378-98D2D85DBC0F

How much did Rummy bribe the FDA this time? :tinfoilhat: (He used to be the CEO of Searle, the company that discovered aspartame during a lab accident when researching an anti-ulcer drug. Aspartame supposedly has connections with brain cancer.)

[valerief]

1. Let's test massive doses on Rummy just to make sure. n/t

[njdemocrat106]

3. Definitely agree with you there. n/t

:evilgrin:

[NNadir]

2. My mother had brain cancer, and drank quite a bit of aspartame.

From a purely scientific standpoint, I know I cannot claim that my mother's brain tumor orignated from aspartame, but on the other hand, I can't rule it out either.

I often wonder.

Personally I hate the taste of the stuff.

[pitohui]

4. i know several brain cancer victims or survivors

none of them used aspartame, one of them died at age 3 having never lived long enough to taste any soft drink, the others developed tumors before aspartame was invented

we need to find the real cause and cure for this crap

agreed aspartame has a sickly sweet flavor and i won't drink it either

[NNadir]

12. Like lung cancer, brain cancer can have many causes.

I certainly don't wish to imply that aspartame causes brain cancer because my mother died from brain cancer and drank aspartame. There are of course, many people who drink or eat aspartame and don't get cancer. In any statistics, my mother's case would be a data point, and nothing more.

I merely state that a putative indication (based on media reports) has led me to wonder.

Aspartame is a dipeptide, meaning it is similar to many naturally occurring compounds. However it is a relatively rare (in natural systems anyway) methyl ester. Ethyl esters are far more common in nature.

I don't know what caused my mother's disease; she had no vices, although my father smoked. I'm hoping the cause wasn't genetic. I have already lived longer than my mother did, but I can tell you that every time I feel unusual, or confused, or if I make some kind of mental mistake, I worry.

[njdemocrat106]

5. I believe there's risks with any artificial chemicals put into the body

I think any kind of sweetener, be it sugar or artificial, has its risks when not taken in moderation (no matter what Bush and Rummy's boys in the FDA say). I guess you're "damned if you do, damned if you don't" no matter what your sweetener preference is (and I can't stand the taste of aspartame, either).

[silverweb]

6. Like we're supposed to trust the FDA these days?

After all the evidence that every sector of "our" government is being run by industry insiders?

Hahahahahahaha!

It may cost more, but I'll stick to my stevia, thank you!

[OnionPatch]

19. My thinking, too.

These days, I am not eating beef or drinking aspartame or taking any new pharmaceutical drugs that have not been around for a long time. Oh and, I'm staying away from foods that I think may be genetically modified as well. The reason is simply that I don't trust the government to inform us or protect us from dangers in our food and drugs anymore. As far as I'm concerned, the FDA, the USDA, all of them....anything they say anymore is worth so little to me as to be insignificant. It's really sad that we're paying all this tax money for the agencies that are doing the OPPOSITE of what they are supposed to be doing. :grr:

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Probably true. There's been a massive tinfoil attack on...

aspartame for years, with all sorts of ridiculous claims about how it will kill you in a hundred ways, but none of the clamis have any scientific basis. The aspartame claims have been debated for years among diabetes researchers, with almost all agreeing with its overall safety.

That's not to say it's good for you, and besides phenylkineuretics, to whom it is dangerous, some people seem to have a particular sensitivity to it.

As a general rule, I suppose nothing artificial should be eaten on a regular basis. Even the American Diabetic Association has recently said sugar isn't such a bad thing in moderation, compared to the negative possibilities of artificial sweeteners.

And there is probably nothing worse than high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener. Besides having a high glycemic index, it causes other problems like raised triglyceride levels and is so commonly used that if we don't read labels, we're eating a hell of a lot of empty calories.

[democrat in Tallahassee]

8. That doesn't make it safe; did the mention the myriad of other

problems its causes? Hell no, it doesn't cause cancer so it's safe. How bout seizures, fibromyalgia, parkinsons's, etc etc. Didn't address that did they?

[beam me up scottie]

9. When did they prove that they cause "seizures, fibromyalgia, parkinsons's"

:shrug:

[dropkickpa]

10. Gives me migraines

And the taste makes me gag. I can ALWAYS tell when I'm trying something with it. I must be one of those who are very sensitive to it. My mother doesn't think it causes them, but she has had a marked increase in migraines since she switched to diet soda (due to diabetes, god forbid she drink water :eyes: ). My father stopped drinking anything with it after he started having "fuzzy" moments, where he was getting forgetful.

[depakid]

16. Yep- and it's definately NOT something people with mood disorders

want to be drinking, either (curiously- mood disorders, particularly bipolar II- or "spectrum" have a high comorbidity with migraine headaches.

Adverse reactions to aspartame: double-blind challenge in patients from a vulnerable population.

This study was designed to ascertain whether individuals with mood disorders are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of aspartame. Although the protocol required the recruitment of 40 patients with unipolar depression and a similar number of individuals without a psychiatric history, the project was halted by the Institutional Review Board after a total of 13 individuals had completed the study because of the severity of reactions within the group of patients with a history of depression.

In a crossover design, subjects received aspartame 30 mg/kg/day or placebo for 7 days. Despite the small n, there was a significant difference between aspartame and placebo in number and severity of symptoms for patients with a history of depression, whereas for individuals without such a history there was not.

We conclude that individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener and its use in this population should be discouraged.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8373935&query_hl=2

[BrklynLiberal]

11. Even IF all the other stories were not true, it tastes TERRIBLE.

I personally agree with the previous posters who feel that anything artificial introduced as food into the body has potential harmful effects that will be shown to us only after it is too late for us to do anything about them.

[philb]

13. Neurologists say they are a major problem

There are 3 MDs in my family, all say Aspartame causes adverse health effects; one of them is a board certified neurologist.
Dr. Russell Blaylock who is an especially well credentialed neurologist, according to the neurologist in my family who knows him,
says Aspartame is a major problem, and has written a book documenting the effects.
Likewise lots of articles/studies have found similarly- as I've posted before.

But also consider the source noted by the orginal poster- It should be clear to anyone that the FDA isn't a credible source-
they are controlled by special interests.

[beam me up scottie]

14. Are you a medical professional, philb?

Because all we've got is your word on that and you have no credibility.

[NotGivingUp]

17. Let's see....so someone licensed by big pharma's drug school has

instant credibility on all these matters????

[beam me up scottie]

18. Not as a rule, but they do have much more credibility than philb here. ;)

I'm surprised he's allowed to give out medical advice on DU.

It's a good thing nobody listens to him.

[depakid]

15. This European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) suggests otherwise

See, e.g.

Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukaemias in rats

http://www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/docs/AspartameGEO2005.pdf

Goes to show why so few in Public Health take anything the FDA says at face value anymore....

Bottom line is that it's not only has it been corrupted and politicised politicized by the far right- and the fundies- but it's evolved into a classic example of a "captured agency."